For decades, many sources including the Guinness Book of World Records listed two great white sharks as the largest individuals: according to these sources, in the 1870s, a 10.9 meters (36 feet) great white was captured in southern Australian waters, near Port Fairy, and an 11.3 meters (37 feet) shark was trapped in a herring weir in New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1930s. Historically, a number of very large great white shark specimens have been recorded. And although few have been properly authenticated, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest that the largest great white sharks grow to more than 6 meters (20 feet) in length.

Naturally, newspapers and home photo albums are full of unconfirmed huge great white tales. It is the biggest shark and the largest predatory fish in the world. The great white shark, also known as simply the “great white”, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a species of large lamniform shark that can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. Overall, the great white shark is the fifth largest living fish on earth. But there are many (unconfirmed) claims of huge specimens up to 10 meters (33 feet) in length. Safety is one thing, the other thing is their incredible speed: great white sharks can accelerate to over 56 km/h (35 mph).Īnother difficulty is, their bodies are comprised of mostly water too, so when they are landed the water dries up, and they become smaller.Īccording to the Guinness World Records Book, full-grown adults are on average 4.3-4.6 meters (14-15 feet) in length, and generally, weigh 520-770 kg (1,150-1,700 lb). The reason is simple: they live in water, and it is not entirely safe to get close to them. It is really difficult to measure how large a shark – or any other fish actually is. The great white shark (scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias) is not the biggest shark (that title goes to the whale shark), but they are the largest predatory fish in the world. What are the largest great white sharks ever recorded? How big can a great white be? This is probably one of the most heavily debated topics in the field of marine science.

Biggest fish on the planet